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Where Tennessee is ranked in the College Football Playoff Top 25

On3 imageby: Eric Cain11/26/25_Cainer

Tennessee Football checked in at No. 19 in the College Football Top 25 Tuesday night, the fourth update of the season. The Vols were ranked No. 25 in the first playoff rankings of the season and moved up to No. 23 and No. 20 in the two weeks that followed.

Tennessee has been ranked in every College Football Playoff Top 25 since the 2022 season, with the streak now at 21 consecutive weeks.

The Vols on Sunday afternoon moved up two spots to No. 18 in the Associated Press Top 25 and the Coaches Poll. Tennessee dropped eight spots to No. 22 in the Coaches Poll and nine spots to No. 23 in the AP Top 25 after the 33-27 loss to Oklahoma at Neyland Stadium three weeks ago before moving back up to No. 20 following the win over New Mexico State.

Tennessee (8-3, 4-3 SEC) on Saturday welcomes Vanderbilt (9-2, 5-2) with kickoff scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN. 

Tennessee’s history in the College Football Playoff Top 25

Tennessee was ranked No. 1 in the first College Football Playoff Top 25 in 2022, after starting the season 8-0, and would finish at No. 6, after dropping as low as No. 10 following losses at Georgia and South Carolina.

The Vols made their debut at No. 17 in 2023 and moved up to No. 13 in the second rankings update, then dropped to No. 18 and spent the final three weeks ranked No. 21. 

Last season Tennessee started at No. 7, dropped to No. 11 after a loss at Georgia, then finished at No. 7 before getting a No. 9 seed in the first 12-team College Football Playoff bracket.

ESPN: Tennessee’s College Football Playoff chances down to 0.3%

Tennessee is ranked No. 16 in ESPN’s College Football Power Index, which gives the Vols just a 0.3% chance to reach the College Football Playoff after the win over Florida.

The FPI predicts Tennessee to finish 9-3 — 8.6-3.4 is the exact win-loss projection — with a 57.9% chance to win out.

Tennessee lost at Ohio State in the first round of the College Football Playoff last season, with the Buckeyes on their way to the national championship. The Vols have played in three bowl games under Josh Heupel, losing to Purdue in the Music City Bowl in 2021, beating Clemson in the Orange Bowl in 2022 and beating Iowa in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day 2024.